End of Summer Roasted vegetables Thai style “Pra Ram” with Tofu

First day of 1st grade for Ava today, gotta say I think we were both ready for school to be back in! Haha! Yesterday we took a trip to the Lloyd farmer’s market, we had never been and I wanted to see what it was all about and I also heard that Mixteca catering tamales had an amazing vegan tamales with mole so I wanted to see how they did that (yeah the chef behind those tamales should probably be granted sainthood). The market was small but the vendors that were there were all exceptional, I found some outrageously gorgeous baby eggplants, zucchini, cabbage, and basil! One of my favorite Thai dishes is “Pra Ram tofu” basically steamed veggies, and tofu in peanut sauce, so with all my gorgeous seasonal produce I figured this was a winner. I did roast my veg instead of steaming, I love roasted veggies and I wanted to see if I could put my own signature on this classic.
You will need:
Veggies! I used 4 baby eggplants, sliced length wise, so I could fan them out for presentation.
3 small zucchini, sliced lengthwise, same as eggplant
1 red bell pepper, chopped into large pieces
1 small cabbage or half a larger one, cut into eights (if you want to see an early post with awful photos about my love of roasted cabbage click here
1 medium onion sliced
2 tsp. cooking oil of choice, I’m still totally in love with camelina, I think I’m ready to commit haha!
1 tsp. salt
Pinch red pepper flakes
Pre-heat oven to 375, rub sheet pan with 1 tsp of oil or use cooking spray, add the rest of your oil to the veggies and toss with salt and pepper flakes, roast 30 minutes, check for doneness, some take longer than others to cook, remove any that are done, flip the rest over and continue roasted for 15 or 20 minutes.
The vegetables are all interchangeable, use what is seasonal and fresh in your area, other choices are broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, or mushroom. Another potential opportunity to make it your own!
1 14 oz package of tofu, baked, check out the method here I left off the hoison on this one and cut it into triangles, but you can again choose your own adventure and swap in any protein source you want, but this is a great way to introduce tofu to your family and friends.
For the nectar of the gods, aka Peanut sauce you will need:
1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk
½ cup natural peanut butter, I used chunky cuz I like a lil’ cushion for the pushin…hehe.
1 Tbsp. Red curry paste, I use Mae ploy, find it at the Asian market…great stuff. If you have a bunch of time or you are Martha Stewart feel free to make your own.
2 tsp. sugar of choice, I used palm (coconut) sugar (here again this is a preference thing, you can add more if you like your sauce sweeter, and you can add less curry paste if you don’t like spicy)
2 tsp. Bragg’s, soy or fish sauce depending on dietary preference, I used Bragg’s
A few Tbsp. of water to thin out to get the consistency you want.
In a small sauce pan, add coconut milk, peanut butter, and curry paste, bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the other stuff, cook a few more minutes on low and tada! Tastietime express is ready for you to take a ride (was that a lil’ Guy Fieri? Sorry.)
Serve with your choice of starch, I used brown rice, but the classic is Jasmine, of course you can use this as an opportunity to branch out and pick your favorite starch, cous cous, quinoa, even noodles! I topped ours with some gorgeous organic basil from the market, mine was the regular variety, but opal basil is more traditional, you can add more peanuts, lime juice, cilantro, I used some black sesame seeds cuz they are pretty, and we eat with our eyes first, right? Then serve! What a wonderful way to welcome fall, and eat your veggies all at the same time. Makes 4 dinner sized servings, and you will have extra sauce that keeps well in the fridge!